The folks at Pioneer are really stepping things up with their entry and mid-level receivers for 2013. The company has trickled down quite a bit of technology to even their lowest price models. The $249 VSX-523, for example, is future proofed with 4K passthrough. At $599, the VSX-1123 adds 4K upscaling.

The folks at Yamaha have launched a new receiver line that gets you ready for the future of home theater. All of the new receivers are compatible with MHL and AirPlay, and they all handle 4K and 3D passthrough, but the higher end RX-V775WA and RX-V765 kick things up even further.

And you thought multizone audio was cool. The latest from Denon and Marantz takes it to a whole new level. Their upcoming receivers will pack an extra HDMI output that provides video in another zone. It's not explicitly stated, but we're guessing that means you'll get multi-channel audio, upscaling and the rest as part of the deal.

The folks over at Pioneer have created a pair of Elite receivers designed to play nice with your network, improve the look of your video and do plenty else to boot. Both offer AirPlay for easy iPhone and iPad connection, DNLA compliance for all your digital files and 192kHz/24-bit DACs to ensure high audio quality.

It used to be that picking up an entry-level receiver meant settling for the absolute bare bones and getting little in return for your investment. The latest from Onkyo buck that trend by offering much more than one might expect from low priced receivers. The TX-SR313 is the cheapest in the series ($299) and still packs a discrete-component output stage instead of an integrated amp.